The Glittering Prizes

It's a pity that this extraordinary piece of ensemble acting is currently unvavailable. It's a bittersweet piece, akin to Peter's Friends or The Big Chill, but more realistic (it's a set of scenes from lives, not a single short-term reunion). The acting is superb. Whoever has the rights: make this series available!

One of the best British mini-series ever. I've been trying to buy this series on VHS or DVD for the longest time. It's not available. I'm hoping someone from the BBC will read this and get the ball rolling. The Glittering Prizes is not to be missed. Tom Conti is terrific, but then again, so is the entire cast. It's a wonderful ensemble piece. The screenplay was written by the incredibly witty Frederic Raphael, who adapted it from his novel. Raphael is known for "Darling" and a few other British films from the 60s and 70s. He also wrote most of "Eyes Wide Shut" before Kubrick re-wrote sections of it. The most recent film I've seen written by Raphael is "Coast To Coast" directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Judy Davis and Richard Dreyfuss. "Coast To Coast" was not released in theaters, only on cable. It's available on DVD and is very funny. The Glittering Prizes deserves its chance on DVD, too.

This must be the last of the quality BBC dramas yet to be released on DVD. I wonder what the problem is? Maybe the BBC has lost the original tapes - I hope not. Assuming that the tapes do exist still, I would expect the demand is enough now to justify its release on DVD. I would certainly be prepared to pay a premium to obtain it. It's one of those productions that do not date, but evokes the atmosphere of the 1950's to the 1970's as I remember living through it. Considering the number of excellent actors in the series you would think there would be a demand just to be able to see them as they were at the beginning of their careers. So come on BBC - at least let us know if we may hope!!!

The script's the star of this sprawling six-part series from Frederic Raphael: probing, caustic and matchlessly witty, particularly in the two most successful episodes, the Brideshead-esque 'An Early Life' and the frankly outlandish 'A Past Life', which features Eric Porter as a fascist sympathiser. The acting is variable (Tom Conti's bravura central performance is the obvious standout), the worldview sometimes unsavoury and the penultimate episode has passages that really drag, but it's a work touched with a rare brilliance and the dialogue is simply spectacular. I picked it up after hearing Nigel Havers (who has a small but memorable role) say it was the best script he'd ever read.

Totally engrossing series. Excellent cast, with a young Tom Conti particularly outstanding. Many mini-series have since come and gone, but very few match it in quality or in hauntingly evoking an era. A masterpiece.